BACKGROUND Community health workers are widely used to provide care for a broad range of health issues. Since 2003 the government of Ethiopia has been deploying specially trained new cadres of community based health workers named health extension workers (HEWs). This initiative has been called the health extension program. Very few studies have investigated the role of these community health wo...

BACKGROUND The Health Service Extension Programme (HSEP) is an innovative approach to addressing the shortfall in health human resources in Ethiopia. It has developed a new cadre of Health Extension Workers (HEWs), who are charged with providing the health and hygiene promotion and some treatment services, which together constitute the bedrock of Ethiopia's community health system. METHODS Th...

BACKGROUND To accelerate the expansion of primary healthcare coverage, the Ethiopian government started deploying specially trained community health workers named Health Extension Workers (HEWs) in 2003. HEWs work on sixteen health service packages; one being tuberculosis (TB) control and prevention. However, their contribution to TB care and prevention services among pastoralist communities ha...

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND In recognition of the critical shortage of human resources within health services, community health workers have been trained and deployed to provide primary health care in developing countries. However, very few studies have investigated whether these health workers can provide good quality of care. This study investigated the knowledge and performance of health extens...

BACKGROUND Women's preference to give birth at home is deeply embedded in Ethiopian culture. Many women only go to health facilities if they have complications during birth. Health Extension Workers (HEWs) have been deployed to improve the utilization of maternal health services by bridging the gap between communities and health facilities. This study examined the barriers and facilitators for ...

BACKGROUND The Health Extension Program (HEP) is one of the most innovative community based health program launched by the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health to make health services accessible to rural communities by setting-out women Health Extension Workers (HEWs) in rural Health Posts. The HEWs are premised to provide basic, largely preventive, primary health services to rural villages and...

BACKGROUND Health extension workers (HEWs) are the frontline health workers for Ethiopia's primary health care system. The Federal Ministry of Health is seeking to upgrade and increase the number of HEWs, particularly in remote areas, and address concerns about HEWs' pre-service education and practices. The aim of this study was to identify gaps in HEWs' practices and recommend changes in their...

Maternal and infant nutrition are problematic in areas of Ethiopia. Health extension workers (HEWs) work Ethiopia’s primary health care system, increasing potential service coverage, particularly for women children, providing an opportunity improvement. Their roles include improving maternal nutrition, disease prevention, education. Supporting HEWs’ practice with ‘non-clinical’ skills behavior ...

BACKGROUND Governments are increasingly reliant on community health workers to undertake health promotion and provide essential curative care. In 2003, the Government of Ethiopia launched the Health Extension Programme and introduced a new cadre, health extension workers (HEWs), to improve access to care in rural communities. In 2013, to inform the government's plans for HEWs to take on an enha...

BACKGROUND Among Millennium Development Goals, achieving the fifth goal (MDG-5) of reducing maternal mortality poses the greatest challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world with unacceptably low maternal health service utilization. The Government of Ethiopia introduced an innovative community-based intervention as a national strategy ...